


Bottled-up

by CassFear84



Series: Bottled-up feelings and other calamities [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Unrequited Love, episode tag season 3 episode 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-01-29
Packaged: 2017-11-27 11:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/661602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassFear84/pseuds/CassFear84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny's just tired of listening to Doris in the car.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bottled-up

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me after watching the first episode of the third season. I don't know, something about Danny sitting in the backseat triggered me. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Edited and corrected at the suggestion of Elderwitty. Thank you!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or anything in the show. This is just for fun!

There were many things in the life of Detective Daniel Williams that exasperated him. Number one was his ex-wife. Rachel had the _gift_ of knowing how to piss him off. If pushing his buttons was an art, Rachel Edwards was a real artist. Number two had to be pineapples. Not that the fruit actually aggravated him, but what was this Hawaiian custom to put it on _everything_? Fruit is a dessert, not a meal! And of course, Steven McGarrett, annoying, Neanderthal, G.I. Joe wannabe extraordinaire was repeated according to the situation. All these things and more didn’t usually coincide in one day, luckily for him. Instead, they seemed to take turns to annoy him. Today, it was Shelburne. AKA, Steven’s mother, Doris. _Oh, lucky me, lucky me._

“You know what I think? I think you are afraid of commitment.”

Danny chanced a glance at Steve to see if he could possibly get any help with this. Doris was Steve’s mother, after all, even if the SEAL refused to acknowledge that. He could have just told her the truth. He considered saying ‘ _I am not afraid of commitment. I’m just in love with your son and since unrequited love is a bitch I use my girlfriend as a shield to keep our working relationship stable.’_ Ha, that would show her. But then again, said son was in the car with them and he wasn’t about to make a love declaration or, worse, be made a mockery of. So he held his tongue and limited himself to glaring at Doris.

By the time they got to the safe house, Catherine was already waiting for them, and the way Steve smiled gratefully at her made Danny’s heart clench. He knew he had no right to be jealous, Steve wasn’t his. Nevertheless, he wanted to wrench his SEAL from Cath’s arms so much that he had to put his hands in his pockets to keep them in check. The worst part was that she was actually a really nice person who cared a lot about Steve. Stupid bitch.

The SEAL put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“Please, stay with her down here while Danny and I check the house.”

The detective could have argued that it was a safe house and, therefore, it needed no checking. He also could have argued that Doris was more than capable of looking after herself, or that Lt Rollins was fully apt for the job. But he really just wanted Steve well away from Catherine and checking the house seemed like the perfect excuse not to witness their contact.

Hands buried in his pockets and making sure to avoid Doris’ piercing eyes, Danny made a bee line up the stairs.

“I guess we’re starting on the second floor,” Steve called after him.

Danny grew more nervous with every approaching step. He really needed to find a healthy way of dealing with his frustrations. He was afraid he was going to punch a hole through a wall one of these days.

“Everything ok, Danno?”

Danny couldn’t help but relax a little, as he opened every door and cabinet in the room he was inspecting. His daughter’s nickname for him coming off Steve’s lips, combined with the concern he heard in his partner’s voice, melted his tension away. He turned to find Steve watching him from the doorway, frown firmly in place. He was too adorable for a SEAL.

“I’m fine,” he replied calmly. And to his surprise, he sounded genuine.

“Look, I’m sorry Doris was such a pain in the car but...”

Danny held up a hand and shrugged dismissively. “I’m fine. She’s no worse than Lori with the ring thing.”

Now Steve’s expression turned to curiosity. “What ring thing?”

And Danny just had to give in and tell him everything about it, because Steve had that goofy grin on his face that made Danny feel like whatever story he was telling, no matter how stupid, was the most interesting thing in the world. Having Steve’s undivided attention like this was the second item on the list of “Things that will eventually be Daniel Williams’ ruin”. Number one was anything relating to Grace.

So they sat on the edge of the bed and Danny talked. By the time he finished telling his story, Steve was laughing out loud and that was rare. He was about to comment that laughing was a good look on him, when Doris poked her head in the room.

“I thought you two were checking the house, not having a slumber party.”

Steve’s face was drained of any trace of laughter or even enjoyment, and Danny hated Doris just a little for doing that to her son. Yeah, they were obviously related, as far as stubbornness was concerned. But Steve wasn’t an asshole and Doris sure was. It wasn’t her words, really. It was the tone of voice she used, the way she looked at you like you were no complicated being. She made him feel small, Danny realized, and she was doing it to Steve too. He wasn’t going to just sit back and let her.

“Yeah, and you were supposed to stay downstairs. Not that I thought for a _second_ that you would trust your son to know what he’s doing. Thanks for proving me right.”

Having said that,  the detective stood up and stormed out of the room.

Had he walked a little slower, he would have seen Steve’s amused, proud expression. He would have liked it.

He didn’t even bother to say goodbye to Cath. She was in the kitchen anyway. He went straight to his car and sat in the passenger’s seat. It wasn’t until Steve got in the driver’s seat, a few minutes later, that he realized where he was sitting. He wasn’t going to be able to complain about not driving his own car today.

“Did you finish checking the house?” he asked, buckling his seatbelt. “Because, if you did, that was some supersonic SEAL speed, babe.”

Steve huffed out a laugh and started the engine. “It’s a safe house, Danno. I didn’t really need to check it in the first place.”

It was a thing of beauty, Danny thought as Steve drove, how relaxed his partner was now that they were alone and away from Doris. His heart beat a little faster at the thought of being the cause of this, although a part of him knew that Catherine probably had the same effect on him, or even more. That made Danny grimace and he covered his face with his hand to hide it from Steve.

“OK, what’s going on?”

 _Not so good at hiding in plain sight, Williams_ , he thought bitterly. He should have known Steve wasn’t going to let it go. “Danno, talk to me.”

And dammit if that tone of voice didn’t almost make him cave in. He sounded so sincere, so worried, so genuinely concerned… But Danny couldn’t tell him what was on his mind. Doris may not have been there, but that didn’t mean Danny felt any more confident about this. Every time he imagined what reaction his confession would grant him, there were only two outcomes: disgust (which would hurt like hell and make him lose the only real friend he’d had in years) or laughter (which would make him feel even smaller than he already did). He wasn’t sure which was worse. He was pretty sure he could live with rejection. In fact, he believed in time they may even go back to being friends. Being laughed at, on the other hand, would devastate him. There would be nothing worse than not being taken seriously by the man he truly loved.

“You can’t just keep ignoring me, you know,” Steve was saying. “You’re gonna have to tell me what’s on that maze-like mind of yours one day.”

“Maze-like? Remind me to get you a thesaurus for Christmas.”

Steve shot him a glare but didn’t rise to the bait. “As I was saying, it’s not healthy for you to bottle up like this.”

Danny couldn’t help but laugh. Steven McGarrett was giving him advice? Encouraging him to open up? Danny shook his head at the glare his laughter got him, but that didn’t mean he was going to confess.

“I’m fine, Steve,” he sighed, looking out the window. “I’m just tired” then he smirked and added “But your mother is a real pain in the ass, babe.”

Steve smiled back and nodded. “I know. She’s gonna make me say something I’ll regret.”

And Danny knew exactly how that felt.


End file.
